is there any way to protect your story idea then? this is kind of scary

I saw this in a TV spot the other day: "Awesome!" @FilmNut5727 "Hilarious!" @KaraT Yes. Tweets from random people, with the handles in the smallest font available of course. I can't remember the actual handles but you get the point. I guess that will have to do if you can't get a real (or fake) reviewer.

I'm always amused when people pontificate about how evil and corrupt Hollywood is. While the particular gripes in this article might be specific to Hollywood, this is the way business is done everywhere nowadays, particularly in Silicon Valley. Hollywood accounting? Check. We have offshore accoutns and subsiduaries and stock dilution plans. Script stealing? Just how many iphone, ipod and ipad clones are there? And so on. Bear in mind, as in Hollywood, this kind of behavior is encouraged. There's even a saying here: Eat lunch or be lunch.

Agreed. You always have the option to leave or not get involved in the first place. Whiners drive me nuts...

Dan, if you are outside the Hollywood system, before you pitch or query anyone, you should copyright your script. That doesn't prevent someone from acting nefariously, but does provide the basis for lawsuit if necessary. Once you're inside the system and repped, there is minimal to no threat of idea theft with one exception: Going up for OWA's (Open Writing Assignments). If Studio A hears 20 writers and their ideas for "Honey, I Shrunk the Alien Escape to New York Sex in the City 5," there is little a writer can do to prevent Studio A from picking out a few bits from each writer's pitch, and using them in the development of that project. But apart from that and as far as my own experience goes, I never heard of one working writer having any of their ideas stolen. And my guess is very, very few aspiring writers have that happen. Why not? My theory is Hollywood is a small town. If Producer B or Writer C gets a reputation for ripping off ideas, they won't find much work. Believe it or not, there's a lot of trust involved in Hollywood. Big payday deals are negotiated on the phone and signed off on with virtual handshakes, deal memos not even finalized for weeks, even months, yet everybody moves forward on the project. So by and large, a writer is safe submitting material to Hollywood entities.

awesome thank you so much scott - one quick question, i just submitted my latest script to WGA - is that the same thing as copyrighting it? dumb question probably, sorry

No, Dan. Check out this post on the subject.

Here's a note from Annika W about copyrights: Though I've been writing scripts for over three years now, registering one with the US Copyright office has seemed about as appealing as a dental appointment. Even after I found out that WGAw registration doesn't provide real legal protection (you have done a few great posts on this) I did some serious copyright heel dragging. This morning, I jumped on the website: http://www.copyright.gov and registered my most recent script. It's the first one of mine I consider makable and marketable -- though the others make nice paperweights! Since people I don't know very well are asking to read it, I knew I had to get official with this one. And it was easy. More time consuming than WGAw registration, sure, but that's because it's a much more serious and thorough process, which is a GOOD thing. Plus, the site is well-designed. Just going through the steps taught me a few new things about copyright law. I'm now a registered user with all my information on file, which means keeping track of future cases (each thing you register is a "case") will be a snap since the site stores all your information and associated case information on a master page tied to your username. I encourage everyone out there to lose their Copyright virginity. Trust me. It's easy and you'll feel that much more like a professional writer once you're done.

Whiners drive me nuts, as well. Still, anyone who has a legitimate (can't emphasize that word "legitimate" enough) suspicion that an idea or script was stolen has good reason to bitch.

What about WGA arbitration? Isn't the point of WGA registration to settle those disputes?

this is fantastic, thanks again scott

I think the article should have been titled: "6 Things the Film Industry Doesn't Care if You Know About or Not Because It's Not As If You're Going to Stop Buying Movie Tickets."